Everyone’s skin crawled. They stared at the massive black hole on the ground, then looked at one another in dismay. It had truly been a bolt from the blue — uncanny and mysterious, leaving their hearts racing long after.
The thatched cottage had been destroyed — obliterated completely — leaving behind only a pitch-black cavern extending down into the depths of the earth.
The Divine Reckoner had long since seen through the matters of life and death. Gazing up at the vast heavens, where endless secrets lay hidden, he let out a long breath — in the end, he would be released, and all of this would end.
The ancient Great Emperors had all passed away long ago, and there was ample evidence of this in the world. Yet the realms and domains they had entered held inexhaustible hidden secrets, obscured and sealed away by heaven and earth.
The Divine Reckoner had just now done no more than allude to the matter — had not revealed any Heavenly Secrets at all — and already this terrifying consequence had materialized. It truly inspired reverence and awe.
Ye Fan thought of the heavenly tribulations — those palace halls resembling the Ancient Celestial Court, and those humanoid bolts of lightning. This all truly invited boundless contemplation.
“Ancestral Master, please do not leave us two behind.” The two children stood at the Divine Reckoner’s side, gripping his arms and shaking them gently, their little faces filled with dread and terror.
“You two are spirit children born as a pair — one male, one female; one yang, one yin — and can mutually counteract and reduce calamity. So long as you do not venture into the forbidden domains of Heavenly Secrets in the future, you will not meet with tribulation.” The Divine Reckoner was very gentle and kind, and patted both children on the head.
Knowing his time was nearly spent and that he could not defy the heavens to survive, he asked Ye Fan and the others to treat the two spirit children well, saying that in time they would be of great benefit to them.
If word of the Divine Reckoner entrusting his charges to others were to reach the outside world, it would surely cause a great uproar — one did not know how many powerful factions would crack their skulls open competing to seize them. In time, these two spirit children would become great divine reckoners, able to calculate and extrapolate the Heavenly Mechanism.
The Old Blind Man’s heart stirred. The other party had entrusted these two spirit children to them — which surely meant he had calculated something. Otherwise, he would not have made such an arrangement.
“You must want to ask about people, I think. This falls under minor matters and cannot be considered revealing Heavenly Secrets. I shall divine for you.” The Divine Reckoner closed his eyes. Upon hearing the names Pang Bo, Wu Zhongtian, Dongfang Ye, and the others, he began to extrapolate.
Pang Bo was in an immortal realm, experiencing all manner of illusory tribulations. If he passed through them, great opportunity awaited him — news that filled Ye Fan with joyful surprise upon hearing it.
Dongfang Ye was in a living hell, having endured all manner of tempering. Step back and die; force through a hundred gates and live. Placed in a situation of certain death, surviving required a will and determination of iron.
This left people in a daze — one in an immortal realm, one in a living hell. What extremes. Yet both were undergoing tribulation, and would need to pass through it to come out alive.
As for Tu Fei — at present he was lifeless, and would be dead for several thousand years. In time, those who had once known him would find it difficult to encounter him again. Upon hearing this news, everyone’s heart sank heavily. There was no greater sorrow in the world than parting from loved ones, in life or in death.
Liu Kou was dead, and would never appear in this world again — leaving everyone in a darkened, helpless sorrow, with no power to change anything.
When it came to extrapolating Xiao Nannan’s fate, the Divine Reckoner found he could not calculate it at all. She had no past, and no future — her life’s trajectory was an expanse of utter chaos.
The Divine Reckoner was reputed to be able to calculate everything under heaven, yet at this moment he was utterly at a loss, completely unable to discern the cause and effect involved. Cold sweat broke out on his brow on the spot.
“This person must not be calculated!”
Immediately afterward, his expression changed in an instant. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of vivid crimson blood, staining his Daoist robe, and severed his connection to the Heavenly Mechanism at once, recoiling as from a venomous snake.
Wu Zhongtian and Jiang Huairen still had their lives — trapped within a prison-like predicament, they would ultimately meet again someday. Everyone let out a long breath of relief.
“Daoist, please calculate for me when I will prove the Dao and attain Emperor-hood.” The big black dog was utterly shameless, crowding forward to beg for a divination.
“When you meet an immortal.” The Divine Reckoner said with a slight smile.
“What do you mean by that — if I’ve even met an immortal, what use would attaining Emperor-hood be to me?!” The big black dog grew furious. There was no immortal anywhere in this world — this was clearly just a way of saying it would never attain Emperor-hood.
“Old man, how many wives and concubines will I have in the future? Three palaces and six courts is too many — I’ll never manage it all.” Li Tian asked with a face full of eager anticipation.
“One person will suffice.” The Divine Reckoner said.
“What?! Aren’t you just cursing me? Be careful what you say — do you mean I’ll have only one official wife, or that one person — just me — will be sufficient on my own?!” Li Tian became agitated.
“Senior, I wish only to ask you this: will I be able to set foot on the road home, and return to my homeland?” Ye Fan asked gravely.
“Yes.” The Divine Reckoner nodded, giving a definitive answer — but after careful reflection, he seemed to want to say something more and then stopped himself.
“Senior, what did you wish to say?” Ye Fan asked. Some things, often, you can foresee the beginning but cannot calculate the ending. He feared there might be some unforeseen change.
“It will not be too far off in time — and you will know when it comes.” The Divine Reckoner said. He could only speak in rough terms; were he to reveal the specific details of the future, that would indeed constitute revealing Heavenly Secrets.
At last it came time to part. The pair of siblings wept with heaving, broken sobs — heartbroken with grief, unable to bear leaving the Divine Reckoner behind, gripping his arms tightly and refusing to let go.
“This bond has reached its end — like a leaf, it must in the end fall and wither. If there is a cycle of reincarnation, then after a thousand, ten thousand lives, we will meet again.” The Divine Reckoner said softly, and branded the Art of Stealing Heaven upon the immortal platforms within their brows.
In the end, Ye Fan and his companions carried the two children away, paid the Divine Reckoner a respectful salute, and departed these great mountains.
Boom!
Not long after they had departed, a bolt of lightning struck down — connecting heaven above to earth below — and submerged that place entirely.
“Wait — what was that, a lightning bolt?!” They were all completely stunned.
There had been only a single stroke of lightning, yet it was thicker than dozens of great mountains combined, stretching from the heavens all the way to the ground without dissipating — incomprehensible in its terror.
“The Character Lightning.” The Old Blind Man’s expression was solemn as he gazed across the distance. Those within this domain all wished to grasp that “one” — yet it was impossible. Only at the brink of death might one glimpse it, and understand all mysteries.
They knew that without a miracle, the Divine Reckoner could not defy the heavens — it was impossible for him to survive. In order to leave these two children with a thread of hope, they resolutely crossed the void and departed, never once looking back.
“Grandfather — Ancestral Grandfather…” The two children wept with heart-rending anguish, stretching out their small hands to grasp at the air behind them — yet there was nothing they could hold on to.
They did not return immediately to the Village of Heaven. Instead they wandered through many places in the Central Region, allowing the two spirit children time to grow calm.
In the end, they crossed the void and returned to the Northern Region.
This was a verdant oasis — lush with vegetation, teeming with life. More than a decade ago, Zhang the Fifth Elder and his people had relocated their stone village here.
Now, the people of the stone village lived in comfort and prosperity, no longer laboring under the hardships of the past. Everything was tranquil and harmonious.
Several months prior, they had agreed to gather here. Li Heishui had already arrived first, pulled into endless rounds of drinking with Zhang the Fifth Elder. Many years had passed without meeting, and the old man was visibly more aged than before.
When Ye Fan and his companions arrived, the stone village erupted into commotion. Many villagers came crowding around. Before the bonfires that night, people were everywhere — the aroma of wine and meat filled the air, and the celebration was as lively and festive as New Year’s.
Ye Fan took out a drop of True Dragon immortality elixir. Using it to extend the life of ordinary people like Zhang the Fifth Elder felt not the slightest bit wasteful to him. He felt a deep gratitude toward the people of the Zhang lineage — without their Source Heaven Scripture, he would not have everything he had today.
The greatest changes within the stone village were in Wang Shu and Er Lengzi — the people Ye Fan had formerly designated as heads of the miners’ sect. They now had double pupils, their frontal bones radiated light, and their blood had transformed into a pure silver color.
“Their cultivation has progressed so quickly?” Even the Black Emperor was quite startled. It had been the one to discover the two of them undergoing their transformation back then, and had taught them the way of cultivation.
Now, the two of them had cultivated independently with no teacher to guide them, and had already become cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm — their rate of progress was jaw-dropping.
Naturally, they could not compare to the people before them now — but one had to know they had started from nothing, with no one to instruct them, and had worked everything out through their own fumbling exploration.
“The Uncrowned Emperor!” That night, the monkey also rushed over. Upon seeing the silver-colored blood and various characteristics of the two, he was greatly startled and seized hold of them, asking them about it intently.
The Source Heaven Master, in his later years, had brought back two infants who were not of the human race at all, having sealed their bloodlines by means that defied the heavens — and these were the ancestors of Wang Shu and Lei Bo.
Ye Fan had once heard Zhang the Fifth Elder speak of this, and now had him tell it in detail again. The monkey listened to the end and remained silent for a long while.
In the ages of high antiquity, powerful races had flourished in abundance — who knew how many rises and falls had come to pass. He had grown accustomed to the tragedy of mighty clans that had lorded over the world being utterly annihilated in a single night.
Among them was one clan that had experienced the full rise and fall of fortune. They had never produced an ancient emperor, yet had several times lorded over all under heaven, and were called the Uncrowned Emperor.
Their population was sparse, their blood a pure silver color, and they possessed terrifying natural talents. Once they grew to maturity, they were formidable and powerful. Though they produced no emperors, great sages were unceasing among them — and even imperial clans did not dare provoke them.
Unfortunately, in the ancient ages they had provoked an existence that should never have been provoked. Legend has it they attempted to enter the Immortal Mausoleum, and the entire clan was destroyed.
“Such a remarkable lineage?” Those present all looked slightly dazed.
The Source Heaven Master had traveled the world widely, and after the ill omens that struck him in his later years, his movements became all the more peculiar — he had entered the Immortal Mausoleum, broken into the Divine Ruins, witnessed the spectral soldiers borrowing the road, and brought back two infants of silver blood. None of it was particularly surprising.
“The Source Heaven Master truly possessed means that were hidden from gods and ghosts alike — he sought out and restored a race that should rightfully have been extinguished long ago. This is truly astonishing.” The monkey stared at the people of the stone village with the Zhang and Wang surnames, his eyes gleaming.
Then he gave a faint sigh: “A pity — their bloodline has grown thin and diluted, and cannot compare to the silver-blood lineage of old. Otherwise they would be a fully legitimate great imperial clan.”
However, he then turned sharply, fixing his gaze on Lei Bo and Er Lengzi. “Breaking through the bloodline seal and forcibly throwing off the shackles — this is a manifestation of ancestral throwback, indicating that their bloodline is just as powerful as that of their ancestors. They are pure-blood descendants of the Uncrowned Emperor clan.”
“The people of the stone village are all treasures — even those with thin bloodlines can have their seals opened and grow into powerful beings.” The Black Emperor’s eyes gleamed. Naturally, it would not say any of this to these villagers — only Zhang the Fifth Elder, Wang Shu, and Er Lengzi could know the truth.
When they returned to the Village of Heaven, Qi Luo saw the whole group arriving. Happiness practically squeezed his single eye into a thin slit — and then finally, he could not help himself and burst into great laughter.
“In the future, who under heaven could compete with our Celestial Court for the fortune of this world?!” He fixed his gaze on the two spirit children, looked at little Tong Tong, glanced at Little Sparrow, and then seized the two silver-blood individuals.
In the future, even without Ye Fan — so long as Tong Tong, Little Sparrow, and the two spirit children could grow to maturity, they would be enough to be unrivaled under heaven.
A constitution identical to the Solar Holy Emperor’s, combined with Little Sparrow’s bearing of one who slaughters all rival kings, plus two spirit children to extrapolate the Heavenly Mechanism, steering toward fortune and away from disaster — who could possibly stand against them?
Of course, if they could also retain the Conquest Holy Emperor’s son and prevent the Desolate Ancient Holy Body from encountering misfortune, that would make them even more invincible — facing even the high-antiquity kings with no fear whatsoever.
“Tong Tong is a case of ancestral throwback — his constitution is identical to the Solar Holy Emperor’s. I’ve heard you have a younger sister of the Lunar Yin constitution, who has been in closed-door cultivation at the Jiang Family looking for you all this time. Now that you’ve returned, you can go call her out of seclusion — and if possible, please invite her here for a brief stay.” Qi Luo said. However one looked at it, there was something sly about him — enough to make someone want to give him a slap.
“You want to gather every single supreme constitution under heaven in one net, don’t you?” Ye Fan said, unamused.
“But of course. If we are going to do it, we do it as the greatest under heaven — what re-emerges will not be an ancient assassin holy dynasty of the distant past, but the true thing of legend and myth: the Celestial Court!” Qi Luo said.